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Forstner bit in plunge router?

10-15-2008, 02:29 PM

Is it safe to put a Forstner drill bit in a router?

In order to drill a collection of 3/4" bench dog holes I figured it'd be easiest and most accurate to put the bit in a plunge router, but I'm not sure if this sort of thing is typically done, and whether it'd be safe.

Comment

The maximum speed for a 3/4" forestner bit is 1200 rpm for hardwood, the minimum speed I have seen on a VS router is 8000 RPM. The collet size will also be incorrect to hold the bit.
BAD IDEA
Use a drill press or a drill guide

Comment

What everybody else said. With that said, here's another caveat -- Make sure you check the recommended speed on any type of a bit, saw blade, cut-off blade, drill bit, hole saw, etc. before you put it into something with an electric motor and spin it up to speed. There are definitely things that will fit on a 4.5 inch angle grinder that will self-destruct if you ramp them up to 11,000 rpms. There are abrasive cut-off discs for a circ saw that will fit a 9-inch angle grinder that will also explode. And believe it or not folks, but most of you are probably spinning your hole saws WAY too fast, so check on the recommended max rpms before you chuck those in a drill and spin them up to 1,200 rpms and burn them out.
Cheers,
Jim Don

Comment

You might try using a 3/4 dia router bit to plunge down as far as you could, then, using that hole as a guide, use whatever you want to drill through. The router may want to wander a bit when starting though.

In order to drill a collection of 3/4" bench dog holes I figured it'd be easiest and most accurate to put the bit in a plunge router, but I'm not sure if this sort of thing is typically done, and whether it'd be safe.

Thanks,
--Jeff

As others have said, do no put that forstner bit in a router....

Since I'm in the planning and prepping stages of a workbench, I thought this was slick as snot and it really stuck in my mind:

I just happened to see a show the other day on DIY that dealt with workbenches, and they had a slick jig for drilling the dog holes. It was a portable drill guide, fixed to a board, with an attached cleat to provide a fixed distance from the bench edge. Additionally, they had a 3/4" hole in the jig which you could use to reference the previously drilled hole, so they are a consistent distance apart.

Comment

As an alternative, how about an old fashion brace and bit. It's easy to make a flat-bottomed hole if you don't want to go entirely through the top and it's also easy to make a slightly slanted hole so the bench dog can "pinch" the work piece in place which is sometimes desirable?

Comment

Sorry for raising up this old thread, but it does come up first in Google if you're searching on "Forstner Router Bit", so I thought I'd mention something...

There ARE router bits that serve (basically) the function as forstner bits, and, since they're made for routers, they're perfectly safe to use there. The problem is that they are not called "forstner bits", and so when you search for "forstner router bit" on online you only find this thread

Comment

I found this question /thread by searching for the topic in Google. I am looking for a way to drill lots of 3/4 inch bench dog holes in a 2 1/4 inch hardwood bench and found the following link that gives a video demo of how to do it with a plunging router, a simple jig to keep the router fixed and a special bit (actually, a 3/4 inch "spiral upcut bit").